{"id":59154,"date":"2018-08-02T16:06:49","date_gmt":"2018-08-02T16:06:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/08\/02\/this-move-was-a-living-nightmare-and-its-just-one-example-from-a-brutal-pcs-season-for-troops-families\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T12:32:38","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T12:32:38","slug":"this-move-was-a-living-nightmare-and-its-just-one-example-from-a-brutal-pcs-season-for-troops-families","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/pay-benefits\/2018\/08\/02\/this-move-was-a-living-nightmare-and-its-just-one-example-from-a-brutal-pcs-season-for-troops-families\/","title":{"rendered":"This move was a \u2018living nightmare\u2019 \u2014 and it\u2019s just one example from a brutal PCS season for troops, families"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Army wife Alissa Fancher was so upset with the damage being inflicted on her washing machine and other items \u2014 not to mention the damage that had been done before her furniture even got there \u2014 that she was in tears, and ordered the movers to stop unloading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hers is one example of what\u2019s happening to a number of military families who are moving<\/a> this summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis was a living nightmare, to say the least,\u201d said Fancher. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While her husband is on a hardship tour, Fancher was moving from Fayetteville, North Carolina, to Aberdeen, Maryland, in June, after he got orders there. She made the move with her daughters, an 11-month-old and a 6-year-old with special needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the company delivered her household goods a day early<\/a>, she has plenty of complaints about the packers, as well as the crew that unloaded her shipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her household goods<\/a> were delivered in a U-Haul truck after the moving van broke down. She contends that her family\u2019s belongings were haphazardly thrown into that truck, causing extensive damage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She became so upset as her shipment was unloaded that she called her husband, who was asleep in another time zone. He told her to stop the unloading while he tried to reach the base\u2019s transportation office. Meanwhile, she was able to reach the workers’ boss, telling him not to unload anything else until they found help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The following day, the workers didn\u2019t arrive until after 6 p.m. As they were leaving, about three hours later, she told them they needed to put the beds together, as required. At this point, she and her daughters were exhausted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since then, Fancher has had trouble reaching the company responsible for the packers and driver as she seeks payment for the damage done to her old residence while moving furniture out, and to the new residence while moving it in. She figures she\u2019s owed about $820 \u2014 and that she\u2019s spent 60 hours over six weeks trying to reach the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, her claim for $4,000 in damage to her household goods was quickly approved and reimbursed by Total Military Management, the company that was responsible for the overall move. Although TMM isn\u2019t responsible for the damage to the residences, TMM chief operating officer Kent Stermon looked into the issue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A check from that subcontractor company was actually already on the way to the previous landlord, he said, although it was a lesser amount. The company\u2019s CEO agreed to pay the extra amount, and Fancher confirmed her previous landlord received the first check this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTMM has been great getting my claims processed,\u201d she said, and communication was easy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among the damaged items, when all was said and done: family heirloom vases, dining room table, treadmill, bedroom furniture, and many more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Total Military Management, of Jacksonville, Florida, arranged for the packing, loading, hauling and unloading by a separate company based in North Carolina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis has been a brutal summer,\u201d said Stermon, echoing the comments by others in the industry and U.S. Transportation Command, which oversees DoD\u2019s shipment programs for household goods and privately owned vehicles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The basic problem is that there aren\u2019t enough packers, truckers and other workers to handle the capacity of moves this summer. A shortage of more than 50,000 truck drivers nationwide and an improving economy that is drawing workers to other companies outside the moving industry contribute heavily to the problem. In addition, moving companies get paid less for military moves than they do for corporate and residential moves.<\/p>\n\n\n\t